AMC Entertainment Wednesday said it’s expanded the role of CEO Adam Aron to include chairman of the board, and selected Ambassador Philip Lader to serve as lead director.
As previously announced, current non-executive chairman of the board, Lin Zhang, and Mao Jun (John) Zeng, both of Wanda, are stepping down as AMC directors following Wanda’s sale of most of its AMC shares. That giant theater chain is holding its annual shareholders meeting on July 29.
As CEO, “Aron has overseen the Company’s transformative growth into becoming the largest theatrical exhibitor in the United States, in Europe & the Middle East and in the world. His most recent focus has been on guiding AMC through the complexities of coronavirus pandemic. Aron has significant business and executive experience, having led as CEO five different companies in five different industries for more than 20 years. He has served continuously since 1988 on numerous corporate Boards,” said AMC.
Ambassador Philip Lader joined the AMC as an independent director in July of 2019. He is currently a senior advisor to Morgan Stanley Institutional Securities.
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Lader was the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, and served in President Clinton’s Cabinet as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, along with having been White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the President, and Deputy Director of the Office of Management & Budget.
In business, he has been chairman of WPP, executive VP of British financier Sir James Goldsmith’s U.S. holdings, and president of resort developer Sea Pines Company. He has served on the boards of Lloyds of London, Marathon Oil, AES, Songbird (Canary Wharf), and RAND Corporation.